Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Demo Square, post: 5195373, member: 10861"] Hey Guys, Here's Another fun 'not made up' hoops story from Demo Square. Hoops was my complete passion growing up & my hometown NYC was its acknowledged Mecca during those early years after WWII. All the college best players came from the Big Apple. And basketball was just a side-show for tall kids back then, with few fans nationally & TV contracts, B&W, no money in it for coaches or pro's. It was like being part of a cult. As a student, you could get into any game at MSG for $2.00. I never missed a single Friday night college double header there in the 50's into the 70's, no matter who was playing. And all the best teams in the USA did play there. It taught me the game & gave me a key goal for my life - a basketball scholarship to go through college. I usually sat with the NYU kids Real hero's emerged from those games like Oscar Robertson, & Bill Bradley who aced every class at Princeton & later became a Rhodes Scholar & starter on those last two championship Knick teams 53 years ago, Senator & Presidential candidate. And all the coaches who left their imprints on my developing game (like the young bully Bobby Knight on one on one D). The best years of my youth. I think some of today's NIL players will look back & wish they'd built a more rounded life of education instead of concentrating solely on money & trying to land one of those rare 450 NBA jobs. BTW, I did screw up the points total for Tim & my big night at that Auburn fresh game I apoke of before in the early-60's. He scored 49 & I scored 46. For a total of [B]95[/B] points. No missed shots. We did beat them by a hundred. Sorry to offend you. Ha! STORY - In the mid 60's - 80's, the ACC ruled & had the best coaches til the BE arrived. They had the best brawls too - especially UNC & Duke (Art Heyman was almost decapitated in '61). The only ACC team from outside of the Carolina's was Maryland. Their coach Left Drissell (a cool guy & huge man) was a real combative spirit. But so was legendary South Carolina coach Frank McGuire. Both teams were loaded with NYC players who went south. And they were all fighters just like their coaches. South Carolina has some huge, violent players who were all great players, huge, & violent at their core. McGuire brought these tough guys up to Maryland for a tough, out of state test. I drove down to MD to hang with friend Tom Riker (South Carolina's center). This was the roughest game I ever saw in college. Elbows, smashed noses, fans throwing chairs & yelling racial insults. Lefty running after McGuire. Blood on the floor. Refs could not control it & they got attacked by fans & players. Near the end of the game, the big brawl erupted. Everyone involved. Refs got stomped, fans all over the court. Players in the stands, Cops making arrests. Finally, Two of Carolina's biggest guys got a hold of Lefty Drissell, & their most insanely violent 6'8" 240 lb. teammate, John Ribock, nailed Lefty about half a dozen times in the face, knocking him out. The refs were too afraid to throw Ribock or anyone else outta Cole Field House. They just called the game & the cops cleared the gym & campus. That's the way some of thse ACC rivalries were back then. So much fun!!!! They let us play & fight back them. And rarely threw anyone out. I hate the hyper control of today's game. Trash talking is non sportsmanship. Pushing off or hooking on every drive is not basketball. Refs ganging up on UConn most games should never be tolerated. But a fun, old school dust-up with few repercussions in say 1964?? One of my favorite hoops memories. I wonder where 80 year old grandpa John Ribock is today. Ha! < look it up Super John) [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach